ACMT Highlights The Effect of Medical Marijuana on Driving Performance in the Journal of Medical Toxicology - September 09, 2014

The September issue of the Journal of Medical Toxicology, the official journal of the AmericanCollege of Medical Toxicology, features a comprehensive review of marijuana use as it relatesto driving performance and traffic safety.

Phoenix, Arizona (PRWEB) September 09, 2014 -- The September 2014 issue of the Journal of MedicalToxicology (JMT) features a comprehensive and up-to-date review of marijuana as it relates to drivingperformance and traffic safety. Now legal in more than 20 states, medical marijuana’s influence on publicsafety is a continuing debate among policy makers, prescribers, and patients. Since alcohol and opioids havebeen irrefutably linked with motor vehicle collisions, many worry the same will inevitably be true with medicalmarijuana. In this comprehensive review of the most recent scientific literature, lead author Mark Neavyn, MD,director of Medical Toxicology at Hartford Hospital, notes, “As with other medications that affect psychomotorfunction and judgment, the healthcare provider and patient should be informed of the potential risks to driversafety prior to prescribing this psychotropic drug.” The information in this article will be indispensible tohealthcare providers seeking a deeper understanding of the effects marijuana has on their patients. In addition,the paper will inform law enforcement and policy makers on the complexity of marijuana and driverimpairment.

Also featured in the September issue of JMT is a series of articles that add important knowledge to ourunderstanding of complications resulting from exposure to concentrated laundry detergent pods. Sales ofconcentrated laundry detergent pods have skyrocketed since their introduction in the US in 2010, and exposuresamong children have risen concomitantly in large part due to their colorful and toy-like appearance. JasonRussell, DO and co-authors from Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio describe dermal burnsfrom laundry pod exposure, and Erika Smith, MD and colleagues from the University of Alabama inBirmingham describe a series of patients with esophageal injury from pod ingestion.

Other highlights in the September issue include a report of occupational carbon monoxide poisoning due tolighting hookahs, or water pipes, at a hookah bar; a report about a new recreational drug hitting the streetscalled methiopropamine; and new data on the potential downside of using intravenous fat emulsion for treatingoverdose. These articles and other regular features are available in the September edition of JMT (Volume 10,Issue 3). An informative audio summary of the issue is available in the September 2014 Journal of MedicalToxicology Podcast.